gun safe advice

[gsganzer]

Small safe for defensive weapons upstairs. Big safe with rest of weapons, documents ect in the basement.

We thought we bought much more safe than we needed. It is full... Not just weapons, but papers ect.

I agree with Robert. You might want to try this safe in your bedroom or master closet. I've been real happy with mine. I keep 3 pistols, shotgun and rifle in mine.

The rest of my guns are in a secure fire safe.

V-Line Closet Vault

 

[HK416]

Two safes are always better than one, logistics if nothing else being the reason. Mr. burglar may be torn between the two. Two take longer to get into. Mr. burglar has a 50/50 chance of getting into the one that you value the contents most. Longer time in your house means more time for him to get caught in the act, or seen, or shot by homeowner.

I have wood floors and my safes are heavy (one is 680 empty, one is 775 empty). I went up 16 rungs of stairs to go upstairs with the 680 model, not even a hiccup. Used a large dolly and 4 men. Took about 10 minutes to go up the stairs (we did a lot of resting). Modern staircasing with 2x10 framework is very sturdy. We put carpet on the flooring to keep it from getting scratched up. Put the carpet side down.

Another tidbit of advice I received and heeded. It's kind of a common sense thing, but don't put safes next to a window. One they can be seen easily and the other reason is mr. burglar can wrap a strap/chain/cable etc. around your safe and pull it through your window with large truck/tractor etc. Hey, it made sense to me. I don't want to help them in any way. Anything can be broke into.

 

[atgreene]

I also vote for two safes.

From a fire viewpoint I can offer some insight. I've been in the fire service for over 20 years. Make sure whatever you buy is a FIRE safe. Many of the safes show a flame as part of the manufacturers insignia, yet they are not fire rated.

As for it ending up in the basement during a fire, not likely. Most fires are extinguished before a house burns to the point of collapse. The issue will be heat. The heat from a fire on the first floor can easily penetrate a regular safe on floors above, staining and destroying guns with a black tar like coating. A fire safe in the basement will at least give the guns a fighting chance as heat and smoke rise. I've seen a lot of guns destroyed by fire, it's a shame, as most everyone has a gun that was passed down from an older generation and it is lost for good when heated or burnt.

Good luck.